The primary value of earning Departmental Honors in Biological Sciences lies in various intangibles: the opportunity to contribute to scientific understanding, to develop your own problem-solving skills, to obtain a much deeper understanding of a particular area of biology and its scientific study than would be possible through conventional course work, to develop and nurture a strong personal relationship with a senior scientist, etc. Even so, there are some tangible benefits:

• Completion of departmental honors in Biological Sciences will be noted on your transcript and diploma.

• Completion of departmental honors makes you eligible for participation in the Honors Convocation at graduation.

• You will receive a special honors cord to wear during graduation ceremonies.

• You will receive an Honors Certificate from the Division of Biological Sciences.

• You, your mentor, and two guests will be invited to attend a special honors banquet to recognize your research achievements just before graduation in May of your final year.

• You will receive notices alerting you to special lectures or events that may be of interest to biologists, and you will be invited to other events limited to participants of the program.

• Participation in undergraduate research activities enhances your chances of receiving one of several different awards presented to outstanding undergraduates in the Division of Biological Sciences or in the College of Arts and Science.

Note: Acceptance into the Honors College is not required for acceptance into the Biology Honors Program, and earning departmental honors in Biology is not required in order to obtain the Honors College certificate upon graduation. These are independent ways to graduate from MU “with honors,” and it is possible to do either or both. Credit hours earned in BIOSCI 4950H/4952H do count as honors hours required to earn the Honors College certificate. You can read more about the Honors College certificate and the various ways that one can graduate with honors from MU at honors.missouri.edu/graduating-with-honors.

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DEPARTMENTAL HONORS Division of Biological Sciences - Undergraduate Research

Requirements to Earn Departmental Honors

1. You must have an overall cumulative GPA of at least 3.3.

2. You must have completed or be currently enrolled in at least 20 credit hours of course work in Biological Sciences, Chemistry, and Physics prior to being accepted in to the Honors Program.

3. You must identify a faculty research mentor and, in consultation with him or her, a research project for which you have primary intellectual and technical responsibility.

4. You must complete an Honors Research Application Form This application includes a structured abstract of the proposed research project and includes sections on Background, Experimental Approaches, Predicted Outcomes, and Overall Significance. The form should be submitted to the Division’s Director of Undergraduate Research at biohonors@missouri.edu. Approval of this application is necessary before you will be provided with permission to enroll in BIOSCI 4950H/4952H.

5. You must complete and submit a Guidelines and Agreement for Undergraduate Research in the Division of Biological Sciences FormThis form requires signatures from you, your research mentor, and the Director of Undergraduate Research (Dr. David Schulz). The completed form should be submitted to the Division of Biological Sciences Undergraduate Advising Office in Tucker Hall Room 3 for final approval. Once the advising staff confirm your GPA and pre-requisite coursework, they will give you a permission number to enroll in BIOSCI 4950H/4952H, Honors Research in Biological Sciences.

6. Complete a total of at least 6 credit hours in BIOSCI 4950H/4952H. With few exceptions, this research is expected to extend over a period of at least 2 semesters (the summer counts as a semester) and include at least 3 credit hours per semester. In general, you should expect to spend 4-5 hours per week per credit hour on the research project. Both semesters of your research project must be carried out under the supervision of a single mentor.

7. You must present your research project and its results. You can choose to write a paper prepared in the format of a scientific journal article or prepare a poster of your research and present it at either a campus science event (e.g., Life Sciences Week, Undergraduate Research Forum, Heath Sciences Day) or a scientific conference. Although it is common to have multiple collaborators on a project, the final presentation ( be it paper or poster) must be primarily yours; generally, this will mean that you are the first author on the poster or paper and, in the case of a poster, that you are personally responsible for presentation and defense of the poster in the public poster session. Papers and posters must be submitted electronically to the Division’s Director of Undergraduate Research (biohonors@missouri.edu) and may be shared on the course Canvas site. In some cases, an oral presentation may be used to satisfy this requirement but must be pre-approved by the Division’s Director of Undergraduate Research. While the departmental honors requirement is for a single presentation, you may have the opportunity to make multiple poster or oral presentations of your work over the course of the research project. You are encouraged to take every opportunity to present your research to the broader scientific community.

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Clarification: Research, Research for Credit, Honors Research for Credit, Departmental Honors, and Capstone Credit

There is often some confusion concerning the distinctions among several related activities: participating in undergraduate research, performing undergraduate research for credit, completing research for honors credit, obtaining capstone credit for research, and earning departmental honors in Biological Sciences. Let’s clear up some of that confusion.

There are several mechanisms for doing undergraduate research. One is to register for BIOSCI 4950, 4952, 4950H, or 4952H and receive course credit for working on a research project. If you receive course credit for your research efforts, certain expectations must be fulfilled. Foremost among these is that you must be intellectually involved in the design and interpretation of your experiments as well as in their technical execution. In general, you should spend about 4-5 hours of effort per week per credit hour on your research project and should obtain an advanced level of understanding of the scientific underpinnings and implications of your project.

If you have a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or higher, you may enroll in BIOSCI 4950H/4952H. In addition to the aforementioned expectations, there are other requirements you must meet for enrolling in Bio 4950H or Bio 4952H. Most significantly, prior to enrollment in these courses, you must complete the Honors Research Application form and submit to the Division’s Director of Undergraduate Research (biohonors@missouri.edu). Approval of this application by the Honors Director is necessary before you will be provided with permission to enroll in BIOSCI 4950H/4952H.

To obtain departmental honors in Biological Sciences, you must have a GPA of 3.3 or higher, and must complete at least 3 hours each of BIOSCI 4950H and BIOSCI 4952H. Except in unusual circumstances and with the prior approval of the Division’s Director of Undergraduate Research, your research effort must extend over at least 2 consecutive semesters (the summer can count as a semester). You must also submit to the Honors Director a final presentation of your research project. In some cases, this may be a paper prepared in the format of a journal article; most commonly, it is a poster presentation at a campus-wide event or a scientific meeting. Some oral presentations may be acceptable, but require prior approval by the Honors Director.

Capstone credit can also be granted for research you perform under the auspices of BIOSCI 4950, 4952, 4950H, or 4952H. Obtaining capstone credit is subject to the approval of the Director of the Division of Biological Sciences and also requires evidence of a final presentation. Specific details can be obtained from the Biological Sciences Office of Undergraduate Advising in Tucker Hall, Room 3.

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